Prepared for Middle School, Empowered to Create Change

As upper elementary students prepare to bridge from elementary school to middle school, students need to become more independent, to manage their time and resources effectively, to problem solve in both academic and social situations, to collaborate, and to deeply explore the concepts they are studying.

Seabury’s Bridges Program provides students with academic challenges personally designed to meet the needs of each and every learner while preparing students for middle school learning. With a focus on leadership development, students meet and interact with community leaders and grow their own skills through service projects and programs like running the student store.

Challenge and preparation

Seabury's Bridges program provides students with academic challenges that are individually designed to meet the needs of each learner, while preparing students for the new freedoms and responsibilities of middle school and beyond, using hands-on, real world experiences. With a focus on leadership development, students are able to learn from experts in their fields and gain understanding of what it means to be a leader through real, lived experiences, in and out of school. 

The Community is their Classroom

Bridges uses the South Sound region and its many resources as a learning lab, where students experience first-hand how our community works and what effective leadership looks like. It puts students face-to-face with local leaders and experts, as well as scientists, artists and entrepreneurs. In typical years, the Bridges students travel once a week to downtown Tacoma, which becomes a base for their field studies, and beyond, going on field studies all around the South Sound region! 

Concept: Systems

Using the concept of “Systems” as a year long guide to their studies, students will explore civics, social services, the Puget Sound as an ecosystem and economic system, evolution, health, and infrastructure including transportation systems. Their time in the Bridges program will be full of dynamic learning, exploration, creation, and inquiry, helping students grow into self-sufficient learners, thinkers, and doers inside and outside of the classroom.

Leadership and Independence

As they learn from community leaders and experts, Bridges students get opportunities throughout the school year to develop their leadership skills and grow their independence. They collaborate with each other to create, produce, direct, edit, and present the Seabury World News, a weekly news show watched by the entire school, including multiple news segments, general school updates, guest speakers, interviews, discussions, and more. Bridges students also run the weekly school store, an enterprise that begins with making a business pitch to the "investors," Assistant Head of School, Dori Hale and Director of Finance, Katyna Thiel, and once approved, involves careful budgeting, ordering inventory, managing operations, supporting and assisting customers (especially our youngest students), running cash registers, and accounting for sales. They mentor younger students regularly throughout the year, helping with STEAM projects, reading together, playing games, and partnering during other classroom activities. On their field studies, they often eat lunch at the Farmer's Market or other restaurants, taking responsibility for their own nutrition choices and money management.

Ready to Make a Difference

Students who have completed the Bridges program head to middle school well on their way to being great leaders, problem solvers, learners, and doers; empowered to make a difference in the world around them.

• Each Bridges student ...
• Tacoma and Beyond
• "What Bridges Means To Me"

Mentors younger children Makes lunch choices and manages money  Writes narratives, research papers, and persuasive essays  Helps run the school store Speaks comfortably and politely to adults in the community Learns advocacy skills Understands how systems work together to help a community run Understands U.S. government systems

Learns and practices debate skills Grasps U.S. geography Uses primary and secondary sources Has the opportunity to practice coding using a variety of programs

In typical years, Seabury's Bridges students use Tacoma and the greater South Sound region as their classroom, participating in weekly field studies which pertain to current topics of learning. Some examples of systems related focuses and accompanying Bridges field studies from last year include:

Election & Government Systems: capital tour in Olympia, met with Secretary of State Department and election officials, organized school wide election, met with and observed a judge in Tacoma Municipal Courts Economic Systems & Entrepreneurship: Port of Tacoma tour, warehouse and distribution tour, session with the CEO and Founder of ‘Bite Me Cookies’, weekly visits to Broadway Farmers Market, sessions with Washington State Department of Financial Institutions

Ecological and Environmental Systems: ecological artwork with the Envirochallengers, multiple sessions with Pierce County Conservation District, water testing and salmon fry release at Swan Creek, working with Tacoma Public Arts to create our final environmental action piece of painting the storm drain in the Seabury parking lot

"Bridges means exploring and finding things out about the world" "Bridges teaches us about our community and how the world works" "To me, Bridges is a fun learning experience that is rewarding and helps us with future activities"  "Bridges is a great way to have fun while learning" "Bridges means seeing every single difference in our community" "Bridges teaches me stuff I wouldn't be able to learn in the classroom"  "Bridges means exploring different experiences"

Find out more in the Seabury School Curriculum Guide